In project management, tasks never exist in a vacuum. They're interconnected threads in a larger tapestry, each relying on others to keep the whole picture intact. That’s where task dependencies come in, dictating the sequence, timing, and flow of your project’s moving parts. Get them right, and your project hums along like a well-oiled machine; miss the mark, and … [Read more...]
Six Sigma is quality. Lean is speed. The synergy of both is the most powerful engine available today to sustained value creation. Six Sigma was developed as a quality improvement system by Motorola and gained widespread traction in the 2000's with high profile adoptions by General Electric, Honeywell, and others. Lean originated out of the Toyota Production … [Read more...]
If there is one, single most foundational part of project management, it would be breaking down the project into manageable parts. Inability to do this well causes even the most brilliant ideas to crumble under vague goals, missed deadlines, and overwhelmed teams. Without exaggeration, the project activity list is the DNA of your project, defining what needs to be … [Read more...]
The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines a portfolio as a collection of projects, programs, subsidiary portfolios, and operations managed as a group to achieve strategic objectives. Portfolio Management, then, is the discipline of managing this portfolio to achieve organizational goals. The components of the portfolio can be projects, programs (series of projects … [Read more...]
A program is a group of interrelated projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated way to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually. Program management is often confused with Portfolio management. The main difference is that a program has a defined end point, since it is a series of related projects each … [Read more...]
One of the elements of Agile project management that makes it truly high performance is the Sprint Retrospective meeting. It takes place at the end of a sprint (project iteration) and its goal is to improve the processes being used by the project. Sprint Retrospectives are the secret that makes the agile project management system so effective in increasing productivity … [Read more...]
Sprint Review meetings represent the finish line of the sprint. It's a great feeling to finish a project iteration. In a sprint review meeting, finished product is presented to the product owner and the stage is set for the next iteration. In agile project management, a sprint review meeting is conducted at the conclusion of each 1-4 week long "sprint" … [Read more...]
The universe of Agile project management certifications is truly mind blowing. There are at least 27 different designations, with different letters after your name, from three major certifying bodies. In contrast, doctors, lawyers, and engineers only have one certification body in any location, and you can perform your education and practical requirements anywhere, … [Read more...]
Scrum has ushered in a revolution in project management. Although the revolution is most often attributed to agile, the Agile Manifesto and Agile Principles do not specify the day to day processes and methods to be used to implement Agile. That's the job of scrum, and as the most popular Agile framework, it's safe to say that Scrum deserves most of the … [Read more...]
In case you haven't noticed, agile is the new buzzword in project management. That's because it speeds up project completion times, increases customer satisfaction, and decreases project costs. Agile started in software development but it's spreading to other industries. It's truly the new way to do project management. But what is all the rage … [Read more...]
